THE proposed closure of libraries across our borough would lead to Ainsdale becoming one of few places in Sefton more than three miles from a library.

Cash-strapped Sefton Council is currently consulting on library cutbacks which could see services in Ainsdale, Birkdale and Churchtown closed.

Campaigners argue Ainsdale library users would be worst hit if the threat became reality due to the distance readers would find themselves from their nearest service.

Figures on the use of Ainsdale library, revealed in the document that went before cabinet when they agreed to consult over closures, show it is bucking the borough-wide trend of declining usage. Whereas library use is down across the borough in Ainsdale there was a 0.2% rise in the amount of users from 2007/08 to 2011/12.

This compares to a 21.1% drop overall in library usage across Sefton’s 13 libraries. Meadows in Maghull is the only other library where usage has gone up since 2007/08.

The library also has one of the lowest costs per issue in the borough and one of the lowest maintenance costs.

While all the libraries remain open everyone who lives in Ainsdale is within 1.1 miles of a library.

According to Ainsdale ward’s Cllr Ted Hartill, if the library is closed along with the one in Birkdale, which is the option currently being consulted on, the nearest library to his constituents would be at least 3.5m away in Formby.

This, he argues, would lead to a failure by Sefton Council to provide a “comprehensive and efficient” library service, as it is required to do under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964.

Cllr Hartill said: “When you add up the travel time from, house, to bus, to library, book exchange, and return journey this can easily be a two hour trip for an elderly person per visit. This will effectively remove any possibility of library usage for the majority of those that currently rely on it.

“This clearly breaches the Libraries Act in that we are not providing a comprehensive and efficient library service. The government cuts have hit pensioners lately. The removal of the library service in Ainsdale would be a devastating blow for large number those that reside in Ainsdale.”

THE consultation is available at www.sefton.gov.uk/libraries as well as in our libraries, One Stop shops and Southport and Bootle Town Halls. Consultation ends on January 14, 2013.